Budget deal doesn’t alter grim long-term picture

Congress’ inability to pass a budget is a symbol of the dysfunction of our federal government. That’s why many people are happy that House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Budget Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., fashioned a two-year spending plan that won House approval Thursday and is likely to soon pass the Senate.

Democrats can applaud the fact that it provides for a slight increase in domestic discretionary spending after a de facto budget freeze for years. Republicans can hail that it requires federal employees to pay somewhat more toward their pensions.

But the truth is that this deal — with its trivial 10-year, $23 billion reduction in spending projections — does close to nothing to alter the dangerous path this nation is now on. Without fixes to Social Security and Medicare, the retirement of tens of millions of baby boomers will soon return us to trillion-dollar annual deficits. This is why the Congressional Budget Office has repeatedly warned that spending is on an “unsustainable” arc.

Without decisive changes, we are two decades or less from entitlement costs and interest on the debt alone consuming the vast majority of federal revenue. This deal ignores that long-term picture — and may even encourage two more years of inaction on spending reform. If it’s the best Congress can do, the United States is headed for the rocks.